Ok so I have ReadyNAS RN 3138, it seems to me that I either don't fully understand the concept of a NAS or I jumped in over my head by getting this unit as my first NAS.
So let me start by telling you all what I want to use my NAS for (not ranked by priority):
Store my 15+ years of pictures (currently 461GB) growing at about 3gigs a month
Store my 15+ years of mp3, m4a, etc (currently 15GB) growing very slowly
I am going to convert my 300+ DVD/BluRay discs to a more portable format. I would then like to stream this to the Chromecast/PS4/Raspberry PI/Roku/etc throughout my house.
Backup My Documents folder
Just installed 6 IP cameras (Hikvision USA 2732) and would like to save the video (motion only) for 30 days at a time
So I have installed the 3138 with two 4GB WD Red drives currently. System is showing that I have 3.63 available to me with the X-RAID 1 (ReadyNAS 6.6.0. I believe this is sufficient for now and if need be I have two more bays of which I can add larger capacity drives.
So now that the background is out of the way here are the things that I am struggling with now.
I have installed ReadyNas surveillance (trial for 30 days). However I can not find where the video files are being stored.
I have the admin user only (so far) and I can see that it has a "HOME" directory however I can see no files in it.
I created a New Share (Pictures) and uploaded my ~460GB to it, and can now see that folder from Windows, however I can see no other folders from Windows or //hostname
What exactly does "allow anonymous access" mean on that share? Can it be seen via Public IP? Does that just mean anyone on my LAN can see it without credentials?
If I am looking to setup a "Media" folder where I will rip my DVD/BluRays to, besides setting the DLNA protocol, how do I make it so it can be seen and accessed on the LAN.
Those are my main quesitons for now, but I am surprised that there isn't a walkthrough given on how to approach a NAS if you are new to having one. I have viewed the tutorials and used the "Quick Start" from the ReadyNAS 6.6 manual, however, it seems that either my NAS is setup different (which it was a fresh install brand new) or they are leaving stuff out. For instance Page 49 of the document doesn't show the HOME folder that I have for my admin account, etc.
Sorry for the long post, but any directly that can be provided would be greatly appreciated.
I am sure there will be plenty of advice coming soon BUT
one thing you do not want to learn the hard way is that a NAS is not a backup if no other backup copy exists on a different device, drives fail, systems get corrupted and if this happens to your NAS you will lose all your data irrecoverably.
Invest in a USB drive or two to permanently connect to the NAS and backup regularly, you can schedule this.
Have you fully read the OS manual Here.it is well worth taking time out to do so.
Also there is an OS update to 6.6.1 released today Here
I should have mentioned that I have Carbonite on my personal computer. So all of the stated information is currently being backed up to Carbonite remotely, and I keep Bluray backups of my pictures in a fire-resistant safe (whenever I remember to get caught up).
Which brings me to another question? How do I sync a folder on my PC so that when I add more pictures to the folder they automatically also get saved to the ReadyNAS? Is there functionality that would allow this?
I don't use surveillance, so I can't make any comments on that.
One comment on space - try to keep at least 20% free space on the data volume.
Also
-I always recommend using a UPS to protect the NAS from unexpected power loss. Many data-loss stories posted here begin with an unexpected power cut. You'll want a UPS that has a USB connector to the NAS (which will then cleanly shut down when the UPS battery drains).
-RAID isn't enough to keep your data safe, so make sure you also keep backups for your data (obviously My Documents is already a backup). USB external drives are one inexpensive way to back your data up. You can also use a second NAS. Cloud backup might be a good option for you, since most of files won't change once they are stored, and the growth rate shouldn't be too high.
3. I created a New Share (Pictures) and uploaded my ~460GB to it, and can now see that folder from Windows, however I can see no other folders from Windows or //hostname
Usually that would be \\hostname.
If that's the only public share in in the system, then usually all you will see. If you connect using the NAS admin credentials, you can see the full data volume.
Try accessing \\hostname\data with the NAS admin credentials For instance run CMD and enter
net use * /delete
net use t: \\hostname\data /user:admin nas-admin-password
Generally it's best to use credentials in the windows system for the NAS - creating credentials in the Windows Credentials manager for the hostname and perhaps the IP address. These should use usernames and passwords that are configured for the NAS. You can use the NAS admin account for now at least.
If you plan to use ReadyCloud, then that will have its own usernames and passwords. Many people do like ReadyCloud; I don't use it myself.
@bridges86406 wrote: 4. What exactly does "allow anonymous access" mean on that share? Can it be seen via Public IP? Does that just mean anyone on my LAN can see it without credentials?
It can be seen by anyone who can reach the NAS with SMB over your network. That should just be your local LAN. You could forward ports in your router to allow anyone on the internet to access the share, but I do not recommend doing that.
2. I have the admin user only (so far) and I can see that it has a "HOME" directory however I can see no files in it.
I'm not sure what you are asking here. Do you mean the \home\admin folder you might see in the web UI?
In general, each user configured on the NAS will have a "home" share created the first time they access the NAS using windows file explorer or OSX finder. That share is normally visible only to that user, though the administrator can also see it by mounting the volume and clicking on "home". It can also be browsed in the admin's web ui.
There are some challenges using this folder - it's not that simple to restore if the NAS fails, and if you use ReadyCloud you will end up with two folders (one for ReadyCloud and a different one locally). That creates confusion/frustration.
If you only need one user account (and that seems likely given your intended uses) then I suggest not putting anything into that folder, and just pretend it isn't there.
@bridges86406 wrote: 5. If I am looking to setup a "Media" folder where I will rip my DVD/BluRays to, besides setting the DLNA protocol, how do I make it so it can be seen and accessed on the LAN.
This depends a bit on the client devices. DLNA should work with most of what you've listed. You'll want SMB enabled so you can access the folder with windows file manager. Some of the devices you list (raspberry pi for instance) can use NFS, so you could enable that on the share too if needed.
You have two options on DLNA - there is a built-in ReadyDLNA client. That's what system->settings enables, along with the share DLNA control. You can also turn that off and install plex. You'd create plex libraries using their normal web interface.
You can of course also host the DLNA server on a PC, but store the videos and music itself on the NAS. If you want plex's real-time transcoding feature that might be the best option.
Which brings me to another question? How do I sync a folder on my PC so that when I add more pictures to the folder they automatically also get saved to the ReadyNAS? Is there functionality that would allow this?
ReadyCloud is one option, but there are restrictions on where that folder can be on the PC.
Running FreeFileSync (or some similar program) on the PC likely is better, so I'd research tools like that first.
Sync isn't the same as backup, since deletions propagate automatically too.
